


Bliss

by Nonlinearone1105



Series: Master Debaters [3]
Category: Star Trek: Voyager
Genre: F/F, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-26
Updated: 2015-02-26
Packaged: 2018-03-15 07:27:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,821
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3438707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nonlinearone1105/pseuds/Nonlinearone1105
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sequel to "Master Debaters" and "The Great Debates: The Other Side".  What happens now?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bliss

**Author's Note:**

> Reposting from LJ.
> 
> Original author's note: Mostly fluff…with a tiny bit of angst.

B’Elanna drew a deep breath, her fingers continuing to smooth over Kathryn’s back.  She was soft, and B’Elanna couldn’t seem to stop touching her whenever they were alone together.  Kathryn didn’t seem to mind, and B’Elanna thought that she actually seemed to crave it – maybe just because she had to maintain a certain distance from everyone because she was the captain.  B’Elanna was pretty certain that Kathryn was a rather physically demonstrative person at heart.  She found little ways to get the contact she needed – she was forever patting people on the back, squeezing their shoulder, placing a comforting hand on their arm – but there was no way that could ever make up for the true intimacy she desired.  Therefore, B’Elanna took it upon herself to try to fill that need now that she was allowed; it just so happened that it wasn’t entirely selfless.

Kathryn had tried to claim that she wasn’t much of a cuddler.  B’Elanna was skeptical, but had obediently respected her professed need for personal space, staying on her own side of the bed.  After the first few mornings had found them tangled together nonetheless, they had stopped trying to pretend and simply curled around each other to begin with.

The occasional tap of Kathryn’s fingers against her sternum let her know that the redhead was still awake.  They still didn’t talk much.  Kathryn never actually invited her over, even if they found a moment of privacy during the day.  It was never more than a look, eye contact held a bit longer than usual, ensuring that no one else would suspect anything.  Even on the days they didn’t see each other, B’Elanna occasionally dared to make an appearance at the captain’s door.  Kathryn had yet to complain or turn her away.

That wasn’t to say that they _always_ met here.  Sometimes, after a game of Velocity – Kathryn always kicked her ass – they would stop by B’Elanna’s quarters, ostensibly to allow her to change.  And she did change.  It just so happened that she chose to strip in the main room, in plain view, instead of retreating to the bathroom.  It wasn’t her fault that Kathryn couldn’t seem to stop herself from tracing her abs every time they were made visible in her presence, or that they usually fell into bed when that happened.

Afterward, however, they always made their way back to Kathryn’s quarters.  B’Elanna did understand – that way, if anyone asked after the captain, they would find her safe and sound in her own home.  It was much less likely that anyone would ask the computer for B’Elanna’s whereabouts at that time of night and learn that the captain was not alone.

She had turned down the officer’s quarters to which she was entitled, staying in the smaller living space on deck nine to be closer to her engine room.  Kathryn knew this, and never failed to look guilty when she quietly announced that she needed to get back to her quarters, but B’Elanna was welcome to join her if she wished.  B’Elanna never turned her down.  Truthfully, it _had_ made her a little antsy to begin with, but she didn’t really mind.  To her, it was worth it.  Besides, if the turbolifts and the transporters both went down at the same time in the midst of an emergency, there were always the Jeffries tubes.  She’d get to engineering somehow.

Still, as much time as they were spending together – three or four nights a week on average – she wanted more.  She wanted to get to know the woman in her arms – not just her body, which was growing more than familiar, but her mind and her heart as well.  The problem was, she’d spent so long building up her own impenetrable walls that she didn’t know how to truly let anyone through, much less how to dismantle someone else’s.

In any case…

Her rambling thoughts were interrupted as the redhead stirred, pressing up onto one elbow to meet her eyes.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” she replied with practiced ease, her fingers making a pass through the auburn hair, taming it a little before returning to the soft skin of her back.  “Just thinking.”

“Well, then what are you thinking?”  There was that smirk – the one that B’Elanna was pretty much unable to resist, especially in combination with that sexy drop in Kathryn’s voice.  She shook her head subtly, a bit at a loss for words, and finally said the only thing that came to mind, the closest she could get to asking for what she really wanted.

“Sometime, could I take you to dinner?  Not in the Mess Hall, but maybe in the holodeck?  Or here?”  Kathryn smirked again, amusement playing in her eyes.  Fuck.  Would Kathryn laugh at her?

“A date?”

“Something like that,” she managed, swallowing and looking away.  A soft kiss against her chin made her look back.

“I think I’d like that.”  She beamed, relaxing beneath the older woman, who eased more fully on top of her, pinning her down with delicious pressure.

“Yeah?”  Kathryn nodded.

“Mmmhmm.”  Kathryn paused, looking thoughtful.  “I don’t want you to think…there’s no one else who’s been here like this, you know.”

“Even Chakotay?” she asked, immediately wishing she could take it back.  It was antagonistic, and she already knew the answer anyway.  Chakotay was her best friend.  She knew how he felt about the redhead and knew that she had rebuffed him.  Luckily, Kathryn’s expression remained calm and open – she even smiled a little.

“Even Chakotay,” Kathryn assured her.  “I tried to back off once I realized how he felt.”

“I know.  So does Chakotay.”

“I’m glad to hear that, but I don’t really want to talk about Chakotay right now.”

“Me either,” she allowed, wondering how Voyager’s first officer would react if he knew she was here right now, exactly where he longed to be.  She hoped it wouldn’t ruin their friendship if he ever found out.  If Kathryn kept her around long enough for him to find out.

“I’m not using you, B’Elanna,” Kathryn murmured, reaching up to trace her forehead ridges.  The move felt like the most natural thing in the world, as if Kathryn would be touching her there with or without the ridges.  It calmed her, allowing her to focus on what Kathryn was saying.  “I’ve never asked anyone else to stay.  No one else has ever had the opportunity to be asked,” she added.  “I want you to know that.”

“But if I hadn’t…”  She trailed off, unable to finish the sentence.

“Probably not,” Kathryn confirmed, “but that doesn’t mean I’m not glad you did.”  Sighing, Kathryn patted her cheek.  “I’m glad you did and I’m glad you stayed and I’m glad you want to take me to dinner.  Goodness knows my life has been short on candlelight and romance these last few years.  Yours too, I dare say.”

“It has,” she confirmed, rubbing Kathryn’s lower back.  “You know this is the longest conversation we’ve had about…about us?”  Kathryn dropped her head.  Her hair swung forward, flooding B’Elanna’s senses with the scent of her shampoo.

“I’m sorry.  I’m never been good at this part.  And with the way we started…well, it didn’t exactly get us into the habit.”  B’Elanna chuckled.

“No,” she agreed, “but I didn’t mean you.  I’m no good at it.  But you…you always know the right thing to say.”  And it was true.  B’Elanna couldn’t remember a time since she’d gotten settled in aboard Voyager that she’d been upset and Kathryn hadn’t known just what to say to calm her down.

“No, I don’t,” Kathryn whispered, smirking and kissing her.  “Part of being a captain is knowing how to read your crew and how to handle them, but that doesn’t always carry over into personal life, I’m afraid.”

“Maybe,” was all she said in reply.  Despite their lack of communication, Kathryn still seemed to know her better than anyone else she’d ever been with.  Not the details, but just the way she worked, what she needed, how to handle her – the important stuff.  Kathryn didn’t assume she’d be one way or another based on her Klingon heritage, and that was huge in and of itself.  That was something that certainly carried over from their professional life.

Kathryn drew a deep breath and kissed her again, lingering this time.  “I like this,” B’Elanna murmured when they parted.  “Talking to you,” she clarified.  “Not that the kissing isn’t nice, too.”  A quiet laugh from the redhead, who dipped her head in amusement.

“Me too.  On both counts.  We should do it more often.”

“The talking or the kissing?” she teased, grinning.

“Mmm…both.”  Kathryn was smiling as she leaned in to kiss her again.  It was relaxed and slow; B’Elanna was glad to find them settling into something beyond the almost overwhelming passion that had initiated their relationship.  That part was nice – very nice – but this softer side was fulfilling in completely different ways.  “Are you staying tonight?”

“Don’t I always?” B’Elanna murmured, brushing Kathryn’s hair back to see her eyes more clearly in the dim starlight.  She couldn’t make out the exact shade of blue, but they sparkled happily just before Kathryn dropped her head again, shy.

“I don’t want to assume…”  B’Elanna cupped her face and found her eyes again.

“I like being with you.  You can assume that much.  I’m staying until you kick me out.”  Kathryn held her gaze for a long moment, searching for any hint of untruth; B’Elanna knew she would find none.

“Okay,” she finally said, nodding once in acceptance, her voice quiet.  Then Kathryn was settling down against her, slipping off to the side a bit.  B’Elanna turned toward the older woman, shifting closer as she scissored their legs.  She smiled as Kathryn sighed and curled into her embrace, nuzzling beneath her chin.  She trailed her fingers up and down the back of Kathryn’s arm in a slow, soothing rhythm, as light as she could manage without tickling – it turned out that Kathryn did not like being tickled at all – not in any context or anywhere on her body.  It was a shame, really.

Although their conversation hadn’t been terribly substantive, she couldn’t help but feel much better about their relationship and where it was going.  She may not know exactly where it was going, but it was nice to know that they both wanted it to go…somewhere.  Just opening the lines of communication, even that tiny bit, was a step in the right direction.

A tiny, fleeting kiss against her throat.  Long, thin fingers splayed against her ribcage, moving in a rhythm that was growing sleepy and beginning to falter.  The curl of toes against her calf.  Sleep was calling, pulling at her, but she fought it, wanting to hang onto this moment for as long as she could.  It was calm…peaceful…

It was…


End file.
